Winches are often used to lift or pull heavy loads requiring substantial force and tension on the winch cable, rope, belt or chain (all encompassed by the term “cable” as used herein). The load may need to be lifted above the ground or overhead, or may be on a slope or lodged in a depression or mud, as when extracting a vehicle from a stuck position in rough terrain. The load may be subjected to a counterforce, e.g., the current of a river acting on a boat. In general, because the forces involved in winching may be large, it is desirable for the winch to operate reliably, not be subjected to overloading or fail to support the load at any point in its operation. In many instances, winch operators rely upon their senses of sight, hearing, smell and touch to monitor the operation and condition of a winch, the winch motor, the cable and the load. In order to use the senses for this purpose, the winch operator must be in close proximity to the winch, which is not always advantageous for a number of reasons. For example, it may be desirable to operate a winch when the user is positioned in a vehicle to which the winch is attached. Winches are known, e.g., as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,864,650 to Heravi et al., wherein a microcontroller and a set of MOSFET switches is used to prevent over-temperature conditions, overload, etc. of the winch motor. Notwithstanding prior approaches, improved and/or alternative winch designs, controllers, apparatus and methods remain desirable.